A Story of a Short Ending | T.R

Chapter 33 - The Mind and The Heart

Tu - YŪT

Today was the day they had all been waiting for so long. Their hard work with preparations and decorating was finally seeing the light of day. As of right now, the bright lights of the early morning were peeking inside the Manor through the thin curtains, as if the Gods themselves wanted to be present at the event that was going to stay on the pages of the books for generations to come.

But only the Gods yet knew that.

The women were already up, as an event like such wouldn't forgive a mistake like unpreparedness. Breakfast wasn't on the cards for some, as the anxiety took over some of their stomachs. Only a couple of women joined the Death Eaters in their breakfast that day, the breakfast that was hosted several hours earlier as even the Manor itself was preparing to host all of the guests that would arrive in the afternoon.

The men of the Manor were not new to days like this and didn't share the nervous approach of the women, as they hosted so many Balls they lost count. Malfoy especially was from the family that was known across the whole region for their events. Mostly for their riches, but even then.

The bright summer weather that wasn't regular for their lands was keeping the women in brighter spirits. Excitement mixing with anxiety and the fear of the unknown was the cocktail of the hour. So they used what they knew best to prepare for almost anything that could happen. They were not only Riddle's security but also their own. Even if Tom didn't consider their lives above his own, they still wanted to come out of this on top rather than be buried in the ground.

Their most important goal tonight was to make sure Riddle was safe and sound. Each of them knew that he was more than capable of taking care of himself by setting everyone in the room on fire or crumbling the ceilings upon them. What it was, was a test of their loyalty. The tests will never end, not with Riddle. He wanted to know how much he could get out of them until they broke, until either their strong morals broke or until he broke them as people. It was fun to him, in the end, he either gets a loyal soldier he can count on or the entertainment of breaking someone's spirit.

The second goal of theirs was to successfully play the role they were assigned. The long and heated meetings they had to sit through as they all together planned this day were a memory now but so fresh and so painful they'd rather not remember them at all.

Information and recruiting were their main goals, as Riddle never passed up an opportunity to broaden his armies and list of influential people he had in his pocket. He could have stopped years ago, the heirs of Malfoy, Lestrange, Rosier and other families were already wrapped around his fingers. His venom was under their skin with those marks that seeped his darkness into their minds day by day. He could have settled for them, knowing that the golden boys of their families would have their parents and other relatives listening to him in no time but something deep inside him kept him going.

He wanted more, he wanted more and no matter how much he got he wanted even more. He saw people as assets that would earn him the title he so yearned for. He wanted to turn everyone he saw into a puppet that bowed to his strings, the master behind the curtain in the theatre called Wizarding World.

The women who currently were back in their rooms, preparing for their first big public event with him, were just another set of puppets he was moulding to their will. He knew who was stronger and would bring more of a challenge, he saw the weakness in some who already leaned into the palm of his hand he fed them with. He watched them, when they weren't looking and even when they were, he didn't mind. His eyes noticed every movement, every thought of theirs as they made their decisions, how their expressions changed when they thought and just how much they hated him.